Simple 60-second brain trick could help sharpen memory and fight brain fog
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trick → help → fog
Brain games, crosswords and math puzzles are often promoted as ways to sharpen memory, but neurologists warn that generic exercises may not address the specific cause of mental fog.
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exercises → promote → fog
Dr. Rhonda Voskuhl, a professor of neurology at UCLA and co-founder of Cleopatra RX in Los Angeles, says brain exercises only work if they target the specific mental function that is slowing down.
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that → say → function
“You can’t just do random cognitive exercises,” Voskuhl told Fox News Digital at the Livelong Women’s Health Summit in New York City in September.
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Voskuhl → do → September
“They’ve got to fit the problem.”
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They → get → problem
The problem, she said, is verbal memory.
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she → say → ?
“Doing math is not going to help …
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Doing → do → math
You need an exercise that will help you with words.”
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that → need → words
Mental fog — especially the kind triggered by midlife hormone changes during perimenopause and menopause — impacts very specific areas of the brain, according to Voskuhl.
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fog → trigger → Voskuhl
When estrogen levels drop, overall intelligence and basic logic remain completely normal.
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intelligence → drop → ?
Instead, the brain takes a hit in two main areas: verbal memory (recalling names and words) and processing speed (thinking quickly under pressure), experts say.
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experts → take → pressure
Games like Sudoku and other number puzzles primarily exercise logic and math skills, so they may not improve word-recall difficulties.
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they → exercise → difficulties
“It’s not a global problem with the brain,” Voskuhl said.
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Voskuhl → ’ → brain
“It’s not global brain atrophy, but there are some regions on MRIs and research studies that show that the hippocampus, the memory area, will have some atrophies, some functional connection issues.”
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hippocampus → ’ → atrophies
To understand why word-based exercises may help, it is useful to distinguish between the following two stages of memory, experts say.
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experts → understand → memory
Encoding: How the brain takes in and stores new information
Retrieval: How the brain pulls up that stored information when it’s needed
Brain fog typically affects retrieval, not encoding.
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fog → take → encoding
The word or name is still stored safely in the memory, but the brain’s search engine is running slowly.
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engine → store → memory
Building a better brain workout
To effectively target brain fog, Voskuhl says exercises need to focus on two things: finding words and working quickly.
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exercises → build → words
“It’s basically processing speed,” she said.
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she → ’ → ?
“So you need an exercise that is going to be something that makes you rush, makes you do it quickly.”
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you → need → it
The following types of exercises target processing speed and active word recall.
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types → target → speed
Instead of using generic puzzle apps, Voskuhl recommends paying attention to where you stumble in daily life and picking games that match those challenges.
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that → use → challenges
People “know themselves,” she said — “what they are bad at or what they used to be good at and now they’re not as good at …
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they → know → what
Once you know those things, you should think about what kind of games [to play].
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you → know → games
You can play around with different games.
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You → play → games
You can see if it pushes you.”
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it → see → you
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